Wichita eagle., 1887-04-13
MY HORRIBLE FRIEND.

baAA AAoin NY "Trip 10 tal1Ornla is
Tstery. The quaint Spanish fashion of
old city interested me, and I found it
1flcult to tear myself away.
When was ready to leave, my brief
oJourn in the country had inspired me
Sith so much confidence that | eagerly
embraced the suggestion of my landlord
o cross the isthmus on horseback.
Take it leisurely," he said; ''follow
the old transit road 1t touches various
points along the canal You can make
he journey in a couple of days, and you
Will not mind spending night in one Of
De LesSeps' villages
Now the canal was a pet hobby Of
mine. was anxious to see how it was
progressing. Besides, had an American
friend who was one of the contractors and
Z wanted to pay him a visit.
The next morning / mounted gentle
. mustang furnished by my host and set
out for Aspinwall, the Atlantic port,
where intended to take the steamer for
New York. AS l wished to reach the
camp of my friend Jackson by midday
rode rapidly during the morning.
At one place the road ran along in sight
of the canal for half a mile. Here | saw
q scene not TO be matched anywhere on
earth. Enormous machines were at work
excavating thousands Of tons OF dirt, and
countless wagons were employed remov-
ing the loose earth. Myriads of worl5men
swarmed everywhere, jabbering TO each
other in all the tongues Of the known
world. Among them were men from all
the countries of Europe, Americans,
Africans, Cinnamon, West Indians and
Malays. The fierce looks cast upon me
by these people alarmed me, but / pre-
To 40 q Inn tot of "a Nj
mated scene. One of the contractors was
An Englshman, and from him / learned
hat would find Jackson about five miles
urther on.
"Are you armeds" asked the English
nan.
told him that had q revolver.
"You will probably need it before you
reach Aspinwall," said he. "You are
passing through 10000 of the bloodiest
cutthreats that were ever collected to-
.gether."
After hearing this I had great mind
to return TO Panama, but the dread of
being laughed at made me decide to push
on. Assuming n determined, business
like look, put spurs to my mustang and
ambled through the motley gangs Of
laborers until | had the satisfaction Of
leaving them behind me. Fortunately /
encountered no obstacle, and Jackson's
camp was made just in time for dinner.
Here l felt safe. Jackson was big
double listed fellow whose men were
nearly all Americans He was delighted
to see me and gave me capital dinner.
During the two hours / spent with him /
filed him full of news from the states,
and he, on the other hand, told me O lot
Of wonderful things about the canal He
a. -
enterprise would drag along for years, but
as he was making bushels of money the
delay played into his hands. As L de-
chned to stay all night with him, Jackson
gave me some directions about my route,
and at my departure confided to me pack
age containing $1,000, asking me to
deposit it for him in one of the banks at
Aspinwall l suggested that there was
danger in carrying such a sum of money
through the country, but the stalwart fell
low laughed at my fears. He said that l
would make the hacienda of Don Fran
cisco Mendez at nightfall, where I would
be royalty entertained. By daylight he
thought that | could take care of myself.
While this was going on 1 saw two
brutal looking MeXicans at a short dis
lance watching US intenty and comforting
together in low tones.
!, al don't like the looks of those rascals,"
said.
"Hello, there Pedro and you, juan"
shouted Jackson. "Get to work, you lazy
devilsr'
The Mexicans growled out few oaths
and sulleny retired
s'They are two of the worst men in
camp" said Jackson, ''but they are not
likely to bother you
had my doubts, but the prospects Of
staving all light with Mendez somewhat
reassure1 me, and / started off in good
spirits. Ny road took nae through n scene
of bewildering beauty. The tropical foil
age. around me glittered with all the hues
of the rainbow. Unknown flowers OF
gorgeous magniIicence and oycrpowering
fragrance frightened the roadside.
Suddenly came upon a small pond Of
clear water in an open space. Hot, dusty
and travel worn, l could not stand the
temptation. Without counting the con-
sequences, | fastened the mustang 10 q
sapling and undressed in Il hurry, placing
my revolver under my clothes on the edge
of the water. Then plunged in and en-
joyed refreshing swim. One thing an
noyed me. All along the WAY had met
with monkeys everywhere. They were of
all sizes. and the interest they took in my
movements amused me not a little.
Sometimes they chartered at me inuig-
nantly and shook their fists almost in my
face. At wave of my hand, however,
they fled in precipitate terror. As soon
as l entered the lake the monkeys seemed
to take fresh courage. They scrambled
in droves and abused me 10 their hearts
content. Among them was one of q
species that had not seen before. He
was a ferocious looking monster, fully
five feet high and as muscular rs bear
Before l realized the situation this long
legged giant swooped down on my clothes
and started with them for the woods.
For moment was absolutely paralyzed
It was no Joke to ride to Aspinwall in
decent RIG. but had no fancy for the role
of Lady Codiva There was no time to
lose. The monkey had left my pistol, and
as soon rs could seize it fired he gave
howl of rage and dropped everything
but my coat hastily jumped into my
recovered garments and gave chase. 1t
was useless The fendish thief scurTed
up into the top of tall cocoa tree, ana IN
the twinkling of an eye put on my coat,
buttoned it around him, and then pro-
ceeded TO hurl cocoanuts at me with such
precision that l was glad TO leap into the
saddle and ride off.
But my troubles had just begun. l
had recouciled myself to the loss OF my
coat, as Jackson's money vas III an INSIDE
pocket'of my vest, but the monkey showed
q disposition 10 follow me. After nrlng